Anyone who knows me will know that I struggle with the whole Disney Princess shebang. The feminist in me fights it with every breath. The pink, the plastic, the ‘meet a man and marry him the same day’ kind of thing makes my head hurt. When I had my first daughter Matilda I made sure that we had a balanced mix of toys in the house. Cars, dolls and games that weren’t ALL targeting one gender. Family and friends would ask which Princess to get her and I would always suggest something else. Then I started to see Tilda staring longingly at these dolls in the shops and I wondered was it fair that I was imposing my feminist ideals on my daughter who was just innocently day dreaming of magic and ball gowns. So I broke, but only a little. The first ‘Princess’ that was allowed in my house was Merida. The wild, feisty, bare back riding, bow and arrow slinging Princess who was refusing to have an arranged marriage, yes she would do just fine! Of course Tilda loved her, and with that I had let the first crack of Disney sun light through. As you will guess it wasn’t long before that crack got bigger and Bigger and BIGGER! Disney and the world of Princesses is a force bigger than all of us. I had lost!

I had to also take a look at myself at that age and admit that I was being a MASSIVE hypocrite. When I was Tilda’s age I was a huge fan of pink and Princesses. I couldn’t get enough, I had a My Little Pony Palace and a pink Princess dress. Whether you argue that it’s nature or nurture and the influencers around us, there are just some little girls (and boys!) who are drawn to this imaginative world like a moth to a flame. Mine is one of them.

So when I was asked if we would like to review the Cinderella Disney Princess Glass Slipper Eau de Toilette, I will be honest, I nearly said no. I thought about it. I chatted it through with Anna. Was this about me? Or was it simply about what Tilda would LOVE this Christmas? I knew the answer, Tilda would do back flips over this. So I said yes.

I told Tilda she had a treat coming at the weekend, and like most mothers out there I used it as a bargaining tool for good behaviour! Yes yes I know, we shouldn’t bribe our kids but we ALL do it. If you don’t then I admire you whole heartedly and put you on a pedestal, but know we probably won’t go drinking together!

So when the weekend came and Tilda had stayed in her room all night without waking us up at 5am (part of the bargain) she was allowed to open the package.

I’ve seen this on the advert’, she shouted!!!!!!! (mental note, she’s watching too much tv)

She beamed, literally BEAMED at me!!! There’s nothing like seeing that on your little ones faces. It’s one of those moments that you bank for the tough days.

It’s got glitter in it!!!!!! Can I try it, please please please?!

So off she went to her bedroom to put on her Sleeping Beauty costume (we don’t have the Cinderella one) and play with her new Glass slipper Eau de Toilette.

‘What does it smell like?’, I asked her. BIG sniff………..

‘Mmmmmmmm flowers’.

‘Do you want me to spray you mummy?’, ‘Yes Please, Tilda’ I said, secretly worried that I would smell like boiled sweets for the rest of the day!

Do you know what? It’s actually a very pleasant smell. I expected something incredibly sweet but it really is a very soft flowery fragrance. It’s also hypoallergenic and alcohol free. I wouldn’t have let Tilda use it if it wasn’t. It also comes with a card picture frame that they can put on their bedside table.

Not only does she love that she has a ‘grown up’ perfume, but she has also loved playing with the glass slipper itself. It’s been included in her imaginative play, she was even pretending to put the slipper on her foot.

I think this is a really lovely Christmas treat for any child who loves their Disney Princesses, it retails at £10 from shops such as Boots, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. It won’t break the bank but it has huge impact for a little one like mine.

As I was taking pictures of Tilda with the perfume I suddenly had a flash back to when I was the same age. I remember my mum, who’s a journalist, doing a piece for the Daily Express about children’s perfumes and that I got to dress up for some pictures for the article. Isn’t that a funny case of history repeating itself? So for your amusement, here’s the picture that went with the piece that we managed to dig out! Just look at that little madam!!

As always let us know if you have tried any of the products we review or have any questions or comments.

What are you planning on getting your kids for Christmas?

Katy x

PS. In the interest of transparency, this is a sponsored post for www.handa-uk.com